Not trying to be a bad apple with this post by any means, I noticed a lot of new guys and girls to the forum recently. But I wanted to bring up a point that I'm not sure some of the new people know about when it comes to public forums. They're called internet scouters. They don't put in the time and gas, these "hunters" watch your posts like hawks and then drive to the spots you're talking about and will snatch spots from under you. There's a lot of them out there taking advantage of the guys on here posting locations of birds. I hunt many of the areas around frederick montgomery and howard counties that have been talked about and I know the amount of birds you're seeing is awesome. I'm glad they're here too! But can we take a chill pill on posting towns and locations of hot spots. I'm seeing guides rolling into some of these areas now the day after you guys post about it. There were 14 boats at the launch the other day after people were posting about the upper potomac. I just wanted to send a friendly reminder about internet scouters. If you want to talk locations of birds with your buddies on here, send a pm but don't feed the lazy guys spots to hunt. Thanks guys and girls! Hope everyone has some good hunts coming soon

does having multiple screen names on a forum and having a conversation with yourself make you an extra special rock star hunter?

yOUR ABSOLUTLY RIGHT, TOO MANY GUYS WANT TO KILL DUCKS, BUT DON'T WANT TO SPEND THE TIME SCOUTING. i GENERALLY HAVE DECENT HUNTS ONLY BECAUSE i WORK AT IT. i HUNT PRIMARILY IN WESTERN SOUTH CENTRAL PA AND IN THE LAST 2 YRS HAVE SEEN HUNTERS SHOW IN AREAS THAT I HAD FOR YEARS SEEN NO PRESSURE DUE TO INTERNET LAPSES. i TELL MY LAB EVERYTHING AND SHE'S THE ONLY GIRL I'VE MET THAT DOESN'T TELL.

well when i was out there yesterday afternoon there was almost no one out. wednesday the same. sorry guys, views does not equal guns.

the upper potomac is a huge area to bring attention to. that is like saying the upper bay has rock fish now. still a lot of water to cover.

i like it. i want to know what people are seeing so i bring the appropriate decoys. it is also cool to hear from other hunters on their successes, failures and the funny stuff that happened. there arent a lot of places near me where i can go chat up the guy next to me at the bar about how awesome/bad the hunt was that morning.

and if i am wrong (could be), and the upper potomac becomes the new mecca of waterfowl hunting in maryland, sorry. blame me. but that increased popularity means more power in the political world, more dollars spent in local economies and more people doing this sport we love so much. we need growth.

There's nothing wrong with posting some info and yes the potomac is a big place but its wise to be at least somewhat discrete for the reasons buzz laid out. The post in question spelled out two specific pieces of publ ic land, a specific area or town and specific bird numbers. I know of one outfitter from 3 counties aw ay who has came into one of the areas mentioned in the thread and is leasing up land from out from under guys who have been already hunting it it. Maybe its a coincedence, but maybe not. I also know of a guide who has started showing up on pieces of the river where I had previously never seen another hunter. Coincedence? Maybe. The fact is cyberscouters do exist, both regular hunters and guides. There's nothing wrong with posting reports and pics, but don't make it easy for scouters. Be discrete. Don't mention specific towns, ramps, pieces of public land, ect. Don't post pics with easily identifiable land marks in the background.

Bob, the upper Potomac is basically like a squatters blind system. The guy who scouts it and get there first hunts it. A lot of guys out here get fried when people just out spots as they literally get blown out and the birds leave. It's not like hunting the Eastern shore.

"If you can't have fun doing it, it ain't worth doing, or you're just doing it wrong."

hunting public land is the same as other public land no matter where you are from my experience. early bird gets the worm. i scout, i do my hw, i scour maps and google earth. i drive and paddle and glass. regardless, if i dont get there first i am screwed. i have even been out there at 2:30 to have someone try to set up 80 yards away right at LST. i know that the whole blind thing can be great to eliminate these types of issues, but i honestly hunting a new spot if i have to or if want a change of pace. forces me to adapt and learn new areas.

i wish i had sympathy for those whose spots were taken away by a guide with cash-welcome to a capitalist country. that is how it works. know why i dont own 500 acres? cant afford it. why do i have a kayak? cant afford a boat.

look, no birds has everyone testy this year. i would love to see a DHC happy hour at the end of this season.

ohioboy wrote:hunting public land is the same as other public land no matter where you are from my experience. early bird gets the worm. i scout, i do my hw, i scour maps and google earth. i drive and paddle and glass. regardless, if i dont get there first i am screwed. i have even been out there at 2:30 to have someone try to set up 80 yards away right at LST. i know that the whole blind thing can be great to eliminate these types of issues, but i honestly hunting a new spot if i have to or if want a change of pace. forces me to adapt and learn new areas.

i wish i had sympathy for those whose spots were taken away by a guide with cash-welcome to a capitalist country. that is how it works. know why i dont own 500 acres? cant afford it. why do i have a kayak? cant afford a boat.

look, no birds has everyone testy this year. i would love to see a DHC happy hour at the end of this season.

I agree 100%. Some people begin to act as if "their" public spot is "their" spot, period. I understand, you don't want to give it away, but goodwill and more hunters is good for our sport. I'm sure one could enjoy GREAT hunting if they were the only hunter in a state, but guess what? I suspect they wouldn't be hunting long, because the sport would simply go away. I sort of enjoy having other groups close. 80 yards? Nope, but realistically when you're the only one in the marsh, you won't do much. You need other hunters to keep the birds up and moving. There's no telling how many shots you DIDN'T get because there was nobody 200 yards away to turn that flock of birds, or how many shots you GOT because somebody jumped them off the roost for you.

It's all in the attitude you look at the situation with. You can choose to be pissed, or you can find the silver lining. I prefer a little more positive outlook.

WOLVERINES

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Let a man vote to give himself a fish and he eats until society collapses.

public land,it is what its called and if thats your only option you make the best of it,and have yourself a plan "B",or your other "spot" on public land. Its just apart of hunting unless your one of the lucky/fortunate ones who either has a lease or knows a guy who does. One has to make the best of the chances/opportunities/locations that we can.

I have to agree, public land is indeed public and anyone can use it whenever they please. I encourage guys to get out and try duck hunting, its a fun sport and I know I have killed birds because other hunters keep them moving. I actually bank on that as a tactic in some public areas. My purpose behind this post is I just wanted to encourage everyone on here to be more vague with locations, even on puclic land. I know on the bay more boat traffic keeps the ducks moving which is great. But as far as the smaller locations like towns or certain ponds or stretches of the upper potomac on public areas, you are letting the lazy guys get the fun. I take youth hunters out as often as I can but I stress to them the art of scouting. I'm not against new hunters getting out and getting on birds, that's not my intention with this post. I absolutely am against lazy hunters that will not go out and scout for themselves. If you can't get in your truck and put some miles on which is a simple task, what else are you being lazy about? Blind stubbling, putting time into learning to call, making good shots? I'm not saying I'm perfect, and I had to start somewhere just like everyone else, but being lazy or not at least trying on those items does nothing more than educate birds. Don't encourage lazyness by letting lazy hunters have information. Those sorts I will admit I would like to see leave the sport, they are making it harder on the guys that scout and work hard for our birds. I hope I don't get torn apart for this post but I hope you guys see where I'm coming from

does having multiple screen names on a forum and having a conversation with yourself make you an extra special rock star hunter?

this is the center of the state according to infoplease. i would be up for anywhere though. if there is enough interest i could check into places. pm me if you would be interested. if we have a good number we can maybe swing a room, food, drink specials. and if interested i would do an overnigh somewhere-safety first. and i think in honor of this thread a "chill pill" drink would be in order. PSUbuzz-you better come.

PSUbuzz wrote:I have to agree, public land is indeed public and anyone can use it whenever they please. I encourage guys to get out and try duck hunting, its a fun sport and I know I have killed birds because other hunters keep them moving. I actually bank on that as a tactic in some public areas. My purpose behind this post is I just wanted to encourage everyone on here to be more vague with locations, even on puclic land. I know on the bay more boat traffic keeps the ducks moving which is great. But as far as the smaller locations like towns or certain ponds or stretches of the upper potomac on public areas, you are letting the lazy guys get the fun. I take youth hunters out as often as I can but I stress to them the art of scouting. I'm not against new hunters getting out and getting on birds, that's not my intention with this post. I absolutely am against lazy hunters that will not go out and scout for themselves. If you can't get in your truck and put some miles on which is a simple task, what else are you being lazy about? Blind stubbling, putting time into learning to call, making good shots? I'm not saying I'm perfect, and I had to start somewhere just like everyone else, but being lazy or not at least trying on those items does nothing more than educate birds. Don't encourage lazyness by letting lazy hunters have information. Those sorts I will admit I would like to see leave the sport, they are making it harder on the guys that scout and work hard for our birds. I hope I don't get torn apart for this post but I hope you guys see where I'm coming from

Not saying I disagree with you, but I think you're leaving out quite a bit. How many people are trying to work a few extra hours these days? How many people have kids? How many people simply can't afford to burn $20 worth of gas? If the answer is "If they can't afford those things, then they shouldn't be duck hunting", that's a pretty s****y attitude. If the answer is "Well, they need to try, we're all working hard", that's a pretty high-minded judgmental answer. If the answer is "I just don't want to lose out on a couple birds I could have shot to someone who I deem lazy because they don't have the time/money/leisure that I do", I suppose that might be a bit more accurate. It's not always about lazy. And I'll take lazy hunters over no hunters, any day. Makes it easier for me, and if you don't think it ultimately makes it easier for you, you're wrong.

WOLVERINES

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Let a man vote to give himself a fish and he eats until society collapses.

Ill be hunting hard til resident goose season is over, and maybe a few snow goose conservation hunts so I personally wouldnt be up for the dhc happy hour til march or later. Dont hold up the party for me though. If im not hunting, im usually scouting so my time to play is limited to night time activities these days. And even then some nights im running out to fill up gas on the generator to keep ice eaters running.

As far as the lazy hunters go, im stepping off the soap box. I think I just have a poopy attitude...

does having multiple screen names on a forum and having a conversation with yourself make you an extra special rock star hunter?